MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nir Y. Krakauer Ph.D Assistant Professor Department of Civil Engineering The City College of New York New York, New York MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Krakauer: We studied the association between the recently proposed body shape index (ABSI) -- which combines waist circumference, height and weight measurements -- and risk of death in a United Kingdom population sample. We found that high ABSI predicted greater mortality hazard, with death rates increasing by about 13% per standard deviation increase in ABSI. Further, ABSI was a stronger predictor of early death than BMI, waist circumference, or other indices based on waist circumference such as waist to height ratio and waist to hip ratio. For a given starting ABSI value, reducing A Body Shape Index over a 7-year period was associated with lowered mortality risk, . (more…)